High-end Security meets Home Automation

We’re excited to share with you this excellent example of how Axiom Design combined three different technology disciplines, security, home automation, and IT network design, to create a total client solution much greater than the sum of the parts.

The Challenge:
Located within a guard-gated golf community, our client’s backyard opens up to the fairway of a world class golf course. Unfortunately the home and the property were violated. Axiom Design was contacted and asked to create a comprehensive security solution that would detect, identify and alert the client and the intruder (and an off-site central video monitoring station) immediately to the presence of anyone on the client’s property. The technology needed to be state of the art but simple to use for the client and the security team. Alerts would be reviewed quickly in order to confirm activity on the premises and alert the authorities. The security solution would have to be smart enough to trigger actions without any human intervention. An added challenge…the city of Las Vegas has a ‘No Response’ policy which states that without verification, no emergency responders will be dispatched.

The Solution:
Following a thorough risk assessment, we recommended a multi-layered solution. This would include perimeter, interior and full moisture detection with a complete floorplan view for seeing any security alerts. Next, we proposed a laser detection system to establish the distance and direction a potential perpetrator was entering from, a high-end visible light and thermal surveillance camera system by Mobotix, an exterior fiber optic IT network, a sophisticated Mobotix video management system (VMS), and a Crestron home automation control system. To allow full color views of any intruders at night, the system was augmented with special industry leading White-Light Network LED Illuminators by Raytec. It is the combination of all of these pieces, triggered and interconnected through the Crestron control system that delivers the image verification needed for a police response, but also to deter crime from occurring in the first place.

Fully integrated into the Crestron home automation system with a range of other access control devices, the laser detector alerts the Crestron system on first identification of an intruder on site. Since golfers will sometimes hit a ball into the backyard and want to retrieve it, we needed to alert these high-handicap golfers to the presence of the security system so they could exit the property without triggering the advanced levels of the security system and more aggressive actions. Once the person enters the outer edge of the intricate laser “net” that covers the entire backyard, a polite pre-recorded message loudly announces that the person has entered private property and to please exit immediately . If the person ignores this clear audio warning and moves towards the home, the laser system detects the movement immediately. Once the pre-determined threshold we programmed is reached, the audible message alerts the intruder that they are being tracked by cameras, monitored and recorded. This recording is happening at the local level and by off-site security.

Using various sensors and thermal detection, the VMS analytics system identifies the subject location, size/shape and recognizes the proximity of the intruder to the home, even in complete darkness. The VMS solution then sends commands to the group of Raytec LED illuminators and triggers them into a specific deterrent flashing mode, providing a noticeable White-Light warning to the intruder that they are being watched and recorded. This provides an extremely effective visual deterrent to stop crime from occurring. If the intruder ignores these deterrents, the illuminator located in the exact area of concern is programmed to produce a solid-on White-Light to allow the optical camera in that area to generate a detailed night-time color image of the intruder for identification; displayed both on-site and streamed live off-site to the central video monitoring station. The high quality images provide sufficient verification of the intruder and qualify the site for emergency police response.

As you can imagine, with such a sophisticated and comprehensive security solution as this, the home has experienced no security breaches. Alerts that have been triggered have been handled quickly and resolved without incident. The client could not be happier, feel more secure and satisfied that his property has the proper safeguards in place.

Summary: By relying on Axiom Design’s multi-disciplinary low-voltage design skills, a unique solution was created that met the client’s need of a high-performance yet easy-to-use security system that protects his most valuable assets, his family.

If you’d like to see a live demonstration of this solution, please call or email us. Our offices are located in the San Francisco Bay Area, Napa Valley and Los Angeles for your convenience. If you live or work away from these areas, we can set up a remote screen share online conference call for you anywhere in the world.